Wolf K wrote:


In the UK, "public school" usually means the ones (mostly) attended by
the privileged - i. e. fee-paying. (The well-known ones like Eton and
Harrow, but really any fee-paying one.) I've never been sure why we call
them "public schools" - I think the argument might be that they are
_open_ to any member of the public who can afford the fees, though if
that _is_ the argument it's a weak one, since many have entrance exam.s.

IIRC, they were called "public" in contrast to the schools run by the
church. But I didn't search for confirmation.

I don't think so. My understanding is that back in medieval times, the
quality hired tutors to teach their offspring, there were no such
things as schools to send them to. The "Public Schools", then, were
institutions that anybody could send their kids to, as opposed to
private, in-home education. But it wasn't free (government supported).
That's what a public school is in the US: a government supported
school that does not charge tuition.

--
Tim Slattery
tim at risingdove dot com